Fletcher Markle (March 27, 1921 – May 23, 1991) was a Canadian actor,

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. Markle began a radio career in Canada, then worked in radio, film and television in the United States.

Early years

Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Markle was the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Markle. He graduated from Prince of Wales Secondary School in Vancouver and chose not to attend college because "there were too many things to do".

Films and television

Markle began his career at age 17 in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, doing

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...

s. He created the Phoenix Theater, which began with stage productions and then went on radio for a 68-week series of hour-long plays He worked with a group whose members included John Drainie, Lister Sinclair, and

Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British-born actor. Young is best known for portraying Wilbur Post in the television comedy '' Mister Ed'' (1961–1966) and voicing Disney's Scrooge McDuck for over ...

on such local stations as CJOR,

CKWX CKWX (1130 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Owned by Rogers Radio, a division of Rogers Sports & Media, it broadcasts an all-news radio, news/talk radio, talk ...

and the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

network. During World War II, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. During that service he acted in the film ''Journey Together'' during some of his off-duty time. In 1945, Markle received a $1,500 grant from

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

to finish his partly autobiographical novel ''There Was A Young Man''. The award came while he was working on the ''Radio Folio'' series for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

(CBC). The CBC had commissioned Markle to write that program, which consisted of self-contained complete episodes that ranged from light to serious in content. Markle had earlier written the ''Baker's Dozen'' series on CBC. The group moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and Markle had a role as an actor in ''Journey Together'' (1946). Markle then moved to New York City, and although not listed in the credits, contributed to the screenplay for

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

's '' The Lady from Shanghai'' (1947). During his time in New York, he contributed to the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

radio anthology, '' Studio One''. In late 1952, he was brought in to replace Worthington Miner on the TV version of that program. He produced, co-wrote, and had a cameo role in the movie '' Jigsaw'' (1949). He directed

Nancy Davis Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in ...

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. He is often remembered for his portrayal of an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder's ''The Lost Weekend'' (1945), which wo ...

, and John Hodiak in ''Night into Morning'' (1951). During the 1950s and early 1960s, he was a director, producer and host for a number of television series such as ''Front Row Center'' and

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

's '' Thriller'', '' Father of the Bride'', and ''

Telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

''. He directed the movie '' The Incredible Journey'' (1963) for

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

. Markle is also credited for signing

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; February 12, 1915 – September 11, 1987) was a Canadian actor, singer, and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Adama in ...

to play Ben Cartwright in ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

''. In 1956, Markle and his wife,

Mercedes McCambridge Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an American actress of radio, stage, film, and television. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress". She won an Academy Award for Best Support ...

, launched a company to produce feature films and content for independent television. Cubano Productions initially gained rights to 23 stories by Burnham Carter. The stories, which had been published in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'', centered around a young Cuban couple and their Cafe Mosca in Havana. They were to form the basis of a 30-minute TV series, ''Tonight in Havana''. Markle and McCambridge also planned to develop the stories into feature films. Markle returned to radio in late 1978 as one of the writers for ''

Sears Radio Theater ''Sears Radio Theater'' was a radio drama anthology series which ran weeknights on CBS Radio in 1979, sponsored by the Sears chain. Often paired with ''The CBS Radio Mystery Theater'' during its first season, the program offered a different g ...

''. Markle received an Academy Award nomination for the documentary film ''The V-1: Story of the Robot Bomb'', which he wrote and narrated.

Personal life

Markle married Helen Blanche Willis in Toronto in 1944, and they divorced on June 14, 1949. They had a son, actor and writer Stephen Markle. He later married actress Mercedes McCambridge, and they divorced in 1962 after 12 years of marriage, during which he adopted her son. Markle's third marriage was to Dorothy Conradt, from 1963 until his death in 1991.

Death

On May 23, 1991, Markle died at Huntington Hospital in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

, aged 70.

Filmography

Producer

* ''Journey Together'' (1949) * ''Jigsaw'' (Uncredited, 1949) * ''Grounds for Marriage'' (1951) * ''Panic!'' (1 episode, 1958) * '' Front Row Center'' (Unknown episodes, 1949) * '' Ford Television Theatre'' (Unknown episodes, 1952) * '' Life With Father'' (Unknown episodes, 1953) * '' Studio One'' (1 episode, 1953) * '' Front Row Center'' (5 episodes, 1955) * '' Colgate Theatre'' (1 episode, 1958) * '' Frances Farmer Presents'' (Unknown episodes) * '' Thriller'' (8 episodes, 1960) * ''Hong Kong'' (5 episodes, 1961) * ''Vacation Playhouse'' (1 episode, 1965) * ''

'' (8 episodes, 1966-1971)

Director

* ''Studio One'' (Unknown episodes) * ''Front Row Center'' (Unknown episodes) * '' Jigsaw'' (1949) * '' Night into Morning'' (1951) * ''

The Man with a Cloak ''The Man with a Cloak'' is a 1951 American film noir crime- thriller-drama directed by Fletcher Markle and starring Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern, and Leslie Caron, and based on "The Gentleman from Paris", a short story by ...

'' (1951) * ''The Ford Television Theatre'' (1 episode, 1952) * ''Footlights Theater'' (1 episode, 1953) * ''Front Row Center'' (4 episodes, 1955) * ''Rendezvous'' (Unknown episodes) * ''The George Sanders Mystery Theater'' (8 episodes, 1957) * '' Panic!'' (1 episode, 1958) * '' Colgate Theatre'' (episode "Tonight in Havana," 1958) * '' Buckskin'' (1 episode, 1959) * '' Thriller'' (1 episode, 1960) * ''

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

'' (1 episode, 1961) * '' Father of the Bride'' (Unknown episodes) * '' The Incredible Journey'' (1963) * '' Vacation Playhouse'' (1 episode, 1965) * ''

'' (2 episodes, 1964-1966) * '' Julia'' (2 episodes, 1969) * '' The Wonderful World of Disney'' (1 episode, 1977)

Writer

* ''The Lady from Shanghai'' (Uncredited, 1947) * ''Jigsaw'' (1949) * ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...

'' (1 episode, 1964)

References

External links

* *
Fletcher Markle
at th

– a video clip with Markle hosting ''Telescope'' from the CBC Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Markle, Fletcher 1921 births 1991 deaths Film directors from Winnipeg Male actors from Winnipeg Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States Canadian male film actors Canadian male radio actors Canadian radio personalities Canadian male television actors Canadian television directors Canadian television producers Writers from Winnipeg 20th-century Canadian male actors Radio directors 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Screenwriters from Manitoba